U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after he addressed a closed Senate Republican policy lunch as a partial government shutdown enters its 19th day on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 9, 2019. REUTERS/Jim YoungWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said he left a meeting on border wall funding with Democratic congressional leaders on Wednesday because it was a “total waste of time,” while Democrats said he walked out in a “temper tantrum.” Trump met at the White House with congressional leaders including two top Democrats - House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer - on the 19th day of…

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he has ordered a halt to federal disaster relief for California’s wildfires unless state officials involved in forest management “get their act together.” “Billions of dollars are sent to the State of California for Forest fires that, with proper Forest Management, would never happen,” Trump wrote on Twitter, a day after western governors asked for greater federal investment in fire prevention. “Unless they get their act together, which is unlikely, I have ordered FEMA to send no more money. It is a disgraceful situation in lives & money!” the president said, referring to the Federal Emergency Management…

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump walked out of talks with Democratic congressional leaders on Wednesday over funding for a border wall with Mexico and ending a government shutdown, complaining the meeting in the White House was “a total waste of time.” On the 19th day of a partial government shutdown caused by the dispute over the wall, a short meeting that included Trump, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi ended in acrimony with no sign of a resolution. “Just left a meeting with Chuck and Nancy, a total waste of time,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “I asked what is…

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi depart the West Wing after meeting with President Donald Trump about the U.S. Government shutdown in the Situation Room at the White House in Washington, U.S., January 9, 2019. REUTERS/Carlos BarriaWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump walked out of a meeting with Democratic lawmakers after they told him they would not fund his proposed wall along the U.S. southern border, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said on Wednesday. “He asked (House) Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi, ‘Will you agree to my wall?’ She said no. And he just got up and said, ‘Then we have…

U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he stands with U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Vice President Mike Pence and other members of the Republican Senate leadership as the president departs after addressing a closed Senate Republican policy lunch while a partial government shutdown enters its 19th day on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 9, 2019. REUTERS/Jim YoungWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s advisers would recommend he use a veto if he is presented with four spending bills while there is no agreement on border security, the White House Office of Management and Budget said on Wednesday. “Moving these four bills without a…

U.S. President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he walks up the steps of the U.S. Capitol with Vice President Mike Pence to address a closed Senate Republican policy lunch as the partial government shutdown entered its 19th day on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 9, 2019. REUTERS/Leah MillisWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said after talks with congressional Republicans on Wednesday that the party was unified in its demands for border security. “The Republicans are totally unified,” Trump said. “A couple talked about strategy ... but they’re with us all the way.” Reporting by Alexandra Alper; Writing by Mohammad ZarghamOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust…

How do New York Times journalists use technology in their jobs and in their personal lives? Li Yuan, a technology columnist in Hong Kong, discussed the tech she’s using.You write about Chinese tech. What tech tools do you rely on to do your job, and what do you like about them?It’s not an exaggeration to say I live in and work on WeChat, the messaging app that’s the equivalent of WhatsApp plus Facebook plus PayPal plus Uber plus GrubHub plus many other things. As my iPhone battery use record shows, I spend about one-third of my daily nine-hour phone time on WeChat. That doesn’t include the two…

FILE PHOTO: Ship and containers are shown at the port of Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California, U.S. July 16, 2018. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File PhotoWASHINGTON (Reuters) - China has pledged to purchase “a substantial amount” of agricultural, energy and manufactured goods and services from the United States, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office said on Wednesday after U.S.-China trade talks wrapped up in Beijing. In a statement that gave few details on the specific outcomes of the latest talks, USTR said the two sides discussed “ways to achieve fairness, reciprocity and balance in trade relations between our two countries.” U.S. and Chinese officials also discussed issues related to intellectual…

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May suffered an early defeat to her Brexit plans on Wednesday, when parliament demanded the government come up with a plan-B within days if she loses a vote on her deal to leave the European Union. FILE PHOTO: Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Steet in London, Britain, December 17, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File PhotoWith less than three months before Britain is due to leave the EU, parliament began a five-day battle over May’s Brexit plan with a show of force - undermining her preferred timetable if lawmakers vote down her deal next Tuesday. May has refused to retreat…

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who has overseen the Russian election meddling probe, is preparing to leave the U.S. Department of Justice in coming weeks as President Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the department is set to take over, a department official said on Wednesday. Rosenstein has had oversight of the U.S. Special Counsel’s probe into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible connections to Trump’s campaign. Then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, an early Trump supporter during the presidential campaign, had recused himself. William Barr, Trump’s pick to replace Sessions who was fired soon after the November midterm congressional elections, is…